THAILAND
At least six people were killed in a shooting at the Debsirin school in Nonthaburi, on the outskirts of Bangkok. The alleged perpetrator, a 14-year-old student, was also found dead, police sources say. The teenager ran from one room to another before shooting a teacher, a witness said. Police believe the boy also killed his grandparents before going to school. Thailand has one of the highest rates of civilian firearm ownership in Southeast Asia.
MYANMAR
On Wednesday, Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing (currently in Thailand on an official visit) received a delegation from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Myanmar in Naypyidaw, led by Cardinal Charles Bo. According to official reports, the delegation expressed gratitude for the granting of about two acres of land in Naypyidaw for the construction of a new Catholic church.
INDONESIA
The Indonesian government will acquire a 60 per cent stake in PT KCIC, which operates Whoosh, the US$ 7.3 billion high-speed rail line financed by China, according to the finance minister and a senior official from the Danantara sovereign wealth fund. The 142-kilometre railway connects Jakarta to Bandung, a city southeast of the Indonesian capital.
KOREAN PENINSULA
South Korean authorities have recovered 15 antipersonnel mines from North Korea, believed to have been washed south by monsoon rains. The Demilitarised Zone that has divided the two Koreas since the end of the 1950-53 war is one of the most mined places in the world. According to estimates, some 800,000 are buried in the area, many of them from the war. However, mine-laying activity has continued in recent years.
WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST
A Houthi attack against Saudi Arabia wounded 11 people yesterday. Today, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is visiting Riyadh. According to Reuters, the two countries, along with Pakistan (with which Saudi Arabia has already signed a mutual defence agreement), are expected to sign a defence cooperation agreement.
SYRIA
At least two people were killed and 14 wounded by a minibus explosion just outside Damascus, in the predominantly Druze and Christian area of Jaramana. The blast occurred during rush hour on Al-Rawda Street, a busy main thoroughfare in central Jaramana. A security officer present at the scene said that the device had been planted inside a vehicle. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack; but the area has long been rife with tensions and hostility toward the new government. A few days ago, security forces arrested a man accused of glorifying the former government of Bashar al-Assad.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
According to Tula Governor Dmitry Milyaev, Ukrainian drones attacked a warehouse in his region, where a fire broke out. Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer, confirmed the Ukrainian attack, saying that all staff had been "evacuated in advance”. The Tula centre is the eighth largest in terms of surface area. Ukraine has already attacked 14 of its 15 largest warehouses, also damaging two residential buildings in Venevsky District and two industrial plants in Uzlovski District.
GEORGIA
According to a report by investment firm Galt & Taggart, Georgia has changed its economic forecasts for 2026. Analysts raised real GDP growth from 7 per cent to 7.5 per cent, due to the strong economic performance recorded in the first half of the year, with an average rate of 7.9 per cent from January to June. Inflation forecasts were also revised upward, from 4.8 per cent to 5.1 per cent, due to the sharp increase in global oil prices following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
